Lost Ancient Technology Of Egypt Copyright Brien Foerster 2014 Cover copyright Bryan Foerster 2014 Dedication I dedicate this book to those that ignited my interest in ancient Egypt, and those that fuelled that interest into a passion that grows each day. First of all to my mother Ann, who read me bedtime stories of the lives of the pharaohs, classical Greece and Rome, and global mythology. To my dear wife Irene, who has accompanied me to the magical land, and supported me when I had to go alone. To those great scholars, Graham Hancock, Robert Bauval, John Anthony West, Christopher Dunn and Robert Schoch whose insights into ancient Egypt stirred up controversy and in some cases vehement attacks from conventional scholars. I wish also to thank all of the Egyptologists whose work has revealed so much that we now know about the dynastic Egyptians; who they were, when they lived, and what they accomplished. But my deepest love and respect goes to Stephen Mehler, Yousef, Patricia and the rest of the Awyan family, who live across the street from the Giza Plateau. Their warmth of spirit, dedication to the true knowledge of the ancient land, and always open door has made each and every one of them a member of my family. And finally, to Abd'El Hakim Awyan, archaeologist, Egyptologist, traditional wisdom keeper and patriarch of the Awyan family. I often feel his presence when we are in the ancient sites, and sense him smiling as we all work together to unravel these mysteries of his beloved Khemit. Table Of Contents 1/ Introduction 2/ Aswan Quarry 3/ Elephantine Island 4/ Tombs of the Nobles 5/ Ramesseum 6/ Colossi of Memnon 7/ Dendera 8/ Abydos 9/ Karnak 10/ Meidum 11/ Dashur 12/ Saqqara 13/ Abusir 14/ Abugurab 15/ Giza Plateau 16/ Bibliography 1/ Introduction Egypt, or more specifically ancient Egypt is a subject that has fascinated people from around the world since Napoleon Bonaparte, for example, arranged the first studies in Egyptology when he brought some 150 scientists and artists to study and document Egypt's natural history, which was published in the Description de l'Ėgypte. (1) That was a series of publications, appearing first in 1809 and continuing until the final volume appeared in 1829, which offered a comprehensive scientific description of ancient and modern Egypt as well as its natural history. It was the collaborative work of about 160 civilian scholars and scientists, known popularly as the savants, who accompanied Napoleon's expedition to Egypt in 1798 to 1801 as part of the French Revolutionary Wars, as well as about 2000 artists and technicians, including 400 engravers, who would later compile it into a full work. Engraving made from Napoleon’s visit The history of Egypt has been tumultuous; to say the least in the at least 5000 years since the rise of the first leaders, the so called pharaohs. Rather than there being a smooth succession of rulers from the first until the last, major periods of internal rivalry and foreign invasion left scars on the land. Historical records were deliberately or accidentally destroyed, such as the burning of the library of Alexandria, and many of the great temples and pyramids were damaged or destroyed by people later than their builders. In many cases the reason for the damage was to erase the existence of an earlier ruler and his accomplishments, or to build new structures from a site that was no longer considered relevant. The Royal Library of Alexandria, or Ancient Library of Alexandria, in Alexandria, Egypt, was one of the largest and most significant libraries of the ancient world. It was dedicated to the Muses, the nine goddesses of the arts. (2) It flourished under the patronage of the Ptolemaic dynasty and functioned as a major center of scholarship from its construction in the 3rd century BC until the Roman conquest of Egypt in 30 BC. With collections of works, lecture halls, meeting rooms, and gardens, the library was part of a larger research institution called the Museum of Alexandria, where many of the most famous thinkers of the ancient world studied. Drawing of what the library of Alexandria may have looked like The library was created by Ptolemy I Soter, who was a Macedonian general and the successor of Alexander the Great. (3) As a symbol of the wealth and power of Egypt, it employed many scribes to steal books from around the known world, copy them, and never returned them. Most of the books were kept as papyrus scrolls, and though it is unknown how many such scrolls were housed at any given time, their combined value was incalculable. The library is famous for having been burned resulting in the loss of many scrolls and books, and has become a symbol of the destruction of cultural knowledge. A few sources differ on who is responsible for the destruction and when it occurred. Although there is a mythology of the burning of the Library at Alexandria, it may have suffered several fires or acts of destruction over many years. Possible occasions for the partial or complete destruction of the Library of Alexandria include a fire set by Julius Caesar in 48 BC, an attack by Aurelian in the 270s AD, the decree of Coptic Pope Theophilus in 391 AD, and the decree of the second caliph Omar ibn Al-khattāb in 640 AD. After the main library was fully destroyed, ancient scholars used a "daughter library" in a temple known as the Serapeum, located in another part of the city. According to Socrates of Constantinople, Coptic Pope Theophilus destroyed the Serapeum in 391 AD. As the library was first built, and its collections gathered under the rule of the Ptolemaic dynasty, as in the Greeks, one has to wonder if it was in fact a complete record of all of Egyptian history. The Ptolemies were quite unlike other foreigners who had ruled Egypt in several respects. Most importantly, they ruled within Egypt. One of the best phrases for understanding the nature of their government’s relationship with the country on which they imposed their rule is that “the Ptolemies used Egypt.” By contrast, it is fair to say that “the Romans abused Egypt.” The Greeks could use Egypt because they came upon a well-developed country in respect to its economic, intellectual, and political life. These factors were in force to an extent which was unparalleled anywhere else within the Hellenistic world where the Greeks had placed themselves to rule over indigenous populations. In the case of Egypt, the Ptolemies found themselves in control of a highly sophisticated ancient civilization and administration, not a group of cloddish barbarians. The Egyptians had as high a level of culture as the Greeks, but it was quite different from theirs. (4) The idea that the Greeks were of as high a cultural level is a dubious point when you take into account how long each civilization had existed prior to their engagement. In the 8th century BC, Greece began to emerge from the Dark Ages which followed the fall of the Mycenaean civilization. Literacy had been lost and Mycenaean script forgotten, but the Greeks adopted the Phoenician alphabet, modifying it to create the Greek alphabet. From about the 9th century BC written records began to appear. (5) Greece was divided into many small self-governing communities, a pattern largely dictated by Greek geography: every island, valley and plain is cut off from its neighbours by the sea or mountain ranges. A mercantile class arose in the first half of the 7th century, shown by the introduction of coinage in about 680 BC. This seems to have introduced tension to many city states. The aristocratic regimes which generally governed were threatened by the new-found wealth of merchants, who in turn desired political power. Athens suffered a land and agrarian crisis in the late 7th century, again resulting in civil strife. The Archon (chief magistrate) Draco made severe reforms to the law code in 621 BC (hence "draconian"), but these failed to quell the conflict. Eventually the moderate reforms of Solon (594 BC), improving the lot of the poor but firmly entrenching the aristocracy in power, gave Athens some stability. Battles occurring in classical Greek times Two major wars shaped the Classical Greek world. The Persian Wars (500 to 448 BC) are recounted in Herodotus's Histories. Ionian Greek cities revolted from the Persian Empire and were supported by some of the mainland cities, eventually led by Athens. The wars had left devastation in their wake. Discontent with the Spartan hegemony that followed induced the Thebans to attack. Their general, Epaminondas, crushed Sparta at the Battle of Leuctra in 371 BC, inaugurating a period of Theban dominance in Greece. In 346 BC, unable to prevail in its ten-year war with Phocis, Thebes called upon Philip II of Macedon for aid. Macedon quickly forced the city states into being united by the League of Corinth which led to the conquering of the Persian Empire and the Hellenistic Age had begun. Soon Alexander the Great conquered Egypt at an early stage of his great journey of conquests, which lasted from 332 to 323 BC. He respected the pharaohnic religions and customs and he was declared by the priest, pharaoh of Egypt. Compare this now with the history of Egypt, which has always been centered near the life giving Nile River, center of somewhat stable agricultural production for thousands of years. A unified kingdom was founded according to most Egyptologists around 3150 BC by King Menes, leading to a series of dynasties that ruled Egypt for the next three millennia.